Inland freight management

ABSTRACT

An inland freight management module for managing inland moves of freight from a plurality of vendor supply locations to port includes a profile maintenance component, a load planning component, and a load routing and booking component. The profile maintenance component is adapted for maintaining an inland planning zone profile including information relating to a plurality of inland planning zones generated according to one or more customs districts. The load planning component is programmed for planning field consolidation of one or more container loads via a multi-stop route between the plurality of vendor supply locations, where the multi-stop route is generated within one of the plurality of inland planning zones.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/833,120, filed Aug. 2, 2007, pending, the entire content of which ishereby incorporated by reference in this application.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

(NOT APPLICABLE)

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The ability to actively and efficiently engage in global trade and theprocurement of goods from vendors is essential to many businesses. Goodsprocured from vendors undergo various stages of transportation beforearriving at their ultimate location. The goods will typically undergoinland transportation from the vendors to ports of origin. Then, thegoods are consolidated and loaded into shipping containers, such asocean equipment containers, for shipping from the ports of origin, orexport gateways, to import gateways. Finally, the goods are deliveredfrom the gateways to their ultimate destination. A need exists forimprovements addressing the complexities of planning and executing theprocurement and transportation of goods from vendors.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Some embodiments relate to an inland freight management module formanaging inland moves of freight from a plurality of vendor supplylocations to port. The inland freight management module includes aprofile maintenance component, a load planning component, and a loadrouting and booking component. The profile maintenance component isadapted for maintaining an inland planning zone profile includinginformation relating to a plurality of inland planning zones generatedaccording to one or more customs districts. The load planning componentis in communication with the profile maintenance component and isadapted for building partial load freight shipments from the pluralityof vendor supply locations into container loads. The load planningcomponent is programmed for planning field consolidation of one or morecontainer loads via a multi-stop route between the plurality of vendorsupply locations, where the multi-stop route is generated within one ofthe plurality of inland planning zones. The load routing & bookingcomponent includes one or more interactive menus for booking inlandfreight carriers for the multi-stop route.

While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of thepresent invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following detailed description, which shows and describesillustrative embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings anddetailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature andnot restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects and advantages will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an Integrated Transportation ManagementSystem, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an Inland Freight Management Module of thesystem of FIG. 1, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a plurality of inland planning zones ofthe Inland Freight Management Module, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing some types of equipment informationassociated with the Inland Freight Management Module, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 5 shows features of a planning menu for viewing shipment planninginformation and making load planning and building selections, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is schematic view illustrating features of a load summary of theInland Freight Management Module, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 shows features of a field consolidation savings summary of theInland Freight Management Module, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 shows features of an interactive Routing & Booking Componentmenus of the Inland Freight Management Module, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of Minimum Quantity Commitment Balancingprocesses of the System of FIG. 1, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing importation gateways, according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of level three balancing of the GatewayBalancing Component, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 12 shows a Profile Maintenance Component, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 13 shows examples of some Gateway Associations of the GatewayBalancing Component, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of a Manual Override Subcomponent of theGateway Balancing Component, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 15 shows a Balancing Recommendation Generation Subcomponent of theGateway Balancing Component, according to some embodiments.

While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternativeforms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in thedrawings and are described in detail below. The intention, however, isnot to limit the invention to the particular embodiments described. Onthe contrary, the invention is intended to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the inventionas defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an Integrated Transportation ManagementSystem 20. The System 20 includes an Inland Freight Management Module22, an MQC Balancing Module 24, and a Gateway Balancing Module 26. Insome embodiments, the System 20 is entirely managed by a large retailentity (LRE), which directly or indirectly owns and/or operates aplurality of geographically-differentiated retail locations. In otherembodiments, the System 20 is managed by a plurality of entities.Commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/833,121, filed Aug.2, 2007, titled “GATEWAY BALANCING,” relates to similar matter and isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

In general terms, the System 20 is utilized to manage the transportationof freight, also described as goods or products, from vendors to one ormore ports of origin, the shipment of goods from ports of origin toports of arrival, and the de-consolidation and delivery of the goodsfrom ports of arrival to retail or other ultimate shipment locations. Asused herein, a “port” is generally indicative of an ocean carrier port,an air terminal, or the like. Various portions of the System 20 aresoftware-based, including databases, networks, and other, relatedtechnologies, although manual processes are also contemplated. In someembodiments, instructions and other information relating to the varioussystem processes described herein are stored on a computer readablemedia and/or written documentation as desired.

As will be understood with reference to the following description,various features of the System 20 are implemented as interactive menuspresented to one or more system users. These types of interactive menusare optionally made available to system user(s) utilizing a userinterface including computer hardware, software, computer readablemedia, and related components for displaying and receiving systeminformation such as a computer work station. As used herein, a “userinterface” includes, but is not limited to, a single location, or singlework station, for example. In some embodiments, the user interface isoptionally viewed and/or manipulated from multiple locations as desired.For example, the user interface optionally includes a plurality ofnetworked devices in geographically separated regions operated by one ormore system users.

As shown in FIG. 1, the System 20 is optionally oriented relative to“in-store dates,” the dates at which goods are to be delivered to theretail locations. Thus, the arrow indicating a transportation managementprocess flow between the Modules 22, 24, 26 (or Apparatuses 22, 24, 26according to some embodiments), is oriented relative to delivery date atthe retail locations. In other words, the delivery dates to the retaillocations are the goals, with the System 20 being oriented to deliver onthose goals.

FIG. 2 shows various components of the Inland Freight Management Module22 in schematic form. The Inland Freight Management Module 22 includes aProfile Maintenance Component 40, a Load Planning Component 42, a LoadRouting & Booking Component 44, and a Consolidator InformationManagement Component 46. In general terms, the large retail entity (LRE)manages the inland moves of shipments of freight from vendors, alsodescribed as vendor supply locations, suppliers, or supply locations, toports of origin utilizing the Inland Freight Management Module 22, aswill be described in greater detail.

The Profile Maintenance Component 40 includes means for maintaining anInland Planning Zone Profile 60, an Inland Rating Zone Profile 62, aVendor Profile 64, a Facility Profile 66, a Booking Profile 68, anEquipment Profile 70, a Container Loading Profile 72, and a BookingQueue Profile 74. In some embodiments, the Profile Generation andMaintenance Component 40 includes one or more databases for receivingand storing profile information. Profile information is optionallygenerated using manually input data and/or electronic data received fromone or more remote sources, for example via a network connection.

In general terms, the Modules 22, 24, 26 each optionally draw oninformation from various profiles in forecasting and planning for inlandshipping, international carriers, and/or ocean gateway intake anddistribution. For reference, as used herein, an “international carrier”generally refers to an ocean carrier, an air carrier, or the like and isalternatively described as a container shipment carrier. As will bedescribed in greater detail, the Inland Planning Zone Profile 60, aswell as other system components, is adapted to promote reduction ofinland freight consolidation at a consolidation facility and achievingnetwork efficiencies. In particular, the effective use of multi-stopinland carrier routes increases field consolidation of container loadswhich, in turn, reduces the need to utilize consolidators.

For reference, a consolidator is a freight consolidation operation thatis typically located proximate one or more ports of origin. A containerfreight station (CFS) facility is an example of a consolidator, alsodescribed as a central consolidator or freight forwarder. In turn,container yard (CY) facilities are located at ports of origin andoperate for loading containers on carriers for overseas shipment. Asused herein, a “CFS load” generally refers to a partial container loadfreight shipment or a load that is otherwise a candidate forconsolidation, also described as a partial load shipment or partialcontainer product shipment, for example. A “CY load” is a container loador one that is fully loaded at a vendor supply location and designatedfor direct routing to port, also described as a full container load, forexample.

The Inland Planning Zone Profile 60 includes planning zone information.FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration showing a plurality of vendor supplylocations 80 (e.g., factories) associated to a plurality of ports oforigin, or ports 82, according to one or more planning zones 84. Theplanning zones 84 are generated using geographic boundaries,governmental boundaries (e.g., state boundaries, province boundaries,city boundaries, or the like), and latitudinal and longitudinalcoordinates relative to the vendor supply locations 80. The planningzones are also generated in view of customs district boundaries or areotherwise customs-district-based zones.

In some embodiments, one or more of the planning zones 84 are bounded bycustoms districts that would prohibit, interfere, or otherwise reducethe desirability of a multi-stop route crossing districts, for examplevia increased costs, permits, or other requirements for crossing customsdistricts. For reference, various types of customs districts are foundthroughout the world, including those associated with the Shenzhen andthe Hong Kong Special Administrative Regions of China, for example. Itshould also be understood that the effect of customs districts candepend on the type of product being shipped, the type of equipment beingused to ship the product, and other factors. As such, in someembodiments, customs districts are not a factor in multi-stop routing.

The Inland Rating Zone Profile 62 includes rating zone information. Insome embodiments, rating zones are formed according to one or more offlat rate shipping costs for freight from the vendor locations based onport proximity (the cost of shipping from vendor supply locations withinthe rating zone to a particular port), shipping rates to port by weight,shipping rates to port by distance, or other shipping ratedetermination. The Inland Freight Management Module 22 optionally takesinto account one or both of inland planning zones and inland ratingzones.

The Vendor Profile 64 includes information relating to one or morevendor supply locations, such as supply location address, hours ofoperation, number of pieces of shipping equipment that vendor supplylocations can handle at a given time, whether the location provides dropoff container loading or live container loading, equipment restrictions,and other types of vendor information.

The Facility Profile 66 includes information relating to variousconsolidating and shipping facilities, such as Container FreightStations (CFS), Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) consolidators, Port of ExportTerminals, Ocean Carrier Terminals, and Pre-Clearance Facilities, forexample. The facility information includes facility address, hours ofoperation, number of pieces of shipping equipment that can be handled ata given time, equipment restrictions, or other types of facilityinformation.

In some embodiments, the Booking Profile 68 includes a hierarchy ofavailable inland freight carriers, such as inland trucking companies. Insome embodiments, the Booking Profile 68 also has information relatingto contracted minimum volume obligations for inland freight carriers,for example.

The Equipment Profile 70 includes equipment information relating to thevarious components of the System 20. The Equipment Profile 70 includesavailability information according to equipment categories, sizes,types, weight thresholds, maximum and minimum volume ranges, as well asother shipping equipment information. FIG. 4 is a schematic view of adata screen 90 showing some types of equipment information included withthe Equipment Profile 70, although other equipment information iscontemplated.

In some embodiments, the equipment information also includes variousbusiness rules. As one example, the equipment information may include abusiness rule that inland point intermodal (IPI) orders should only use40 foot shipping containers. As alluded to above, information from theEquipment Profile 70 is optionally accessed by the other Modules 24, 26.For example, the business rule that inland point intermodal (IPI) ordersshould only use 40 foot shipping containers is optionally used in theGateway Balancing Module 26 to avoid potential chassis limitations fordrayage from a de-consolidator.

The Container Loading Profile 72 includes container loading informationrelating to shipping carton orientation, item loading order, and othercontainer loading requirements. For example, in some embodiments thecontainer loading information includes various container loading rules.One optional rule is that cartons of an inland shipment are to be loadedwith purchase order and item markings facing the tail of the inlandshipping container. In some embodiments, the Container Loading Profile72 is accessed during inland freight carrier booking where the inlandfreight carriers are provided with one or more of the loading rules viae-mail, print out, or other means of communication. For example, theinland freight carriers are optionally notified of such business rulesin order to help ensure compliance.

Another optional rule is that retail items are placed in the nose of theinland shipping container while non-retail items are placed in the tailof the inland shipping container. In some embodiments, this rule orrelated information is displayed to the system user during routeplanning & building. Using such information, the system user has theoption of building the stop sequence of a multi-stop route betweenvendor supply locations to take into consideration whether a pick-up isfor retail or non-retail purchase order items in order to help ensurethat non-retail items are loaded last. In other embodiments, suchbusiness rules are automatically implemented by one or more systemcomponents via an appropriate algorithm.

The Booking Queue Profile 74 includes booking information relating toinland freight shipments that the Large Retail Entity (LRE) isresponsible for building into container loads. This list of shipments isalso described as the booking queue. The booking information, such asquantities, types of goods, whether loads are Container Yard (CY) loadsvs. Container Freight Station (CFS) loads, as well as whether the largeretail entity is responsible for shipping to port (FCA) or the vendor isresponsible for shipping to port (FOB), and other booking information isa result of one or more vendor booking processes used by the LargeRetail Entity (LRE). Although FCA and FOB are used as examples herein,it should be understood that use of other types of shipping informationand designators, including all of those associated with internationallyrecognized Incoterms, are contemplated.

The Load Planning Component 42 includes a CY Load Handling Subcomponent80, a Field Consolidation Subcomponent 82, a Central ConsolidationSubcomponent 84, a Maintain Loads Subcomponent 86, and a Fulfill FieldConsolidation Obligations Subcomponent 88. In general terms, the LoadPlanning Component 42 includes means for building inland freightshipments from vendors into container loads. The Load Planning Component42 utilizes information from the Profile Maintenance Component 40 tohelp field consolidate inland freight shipments into container loadsusing multi-stop routes (as opposed to consolidating inland freightshipments at container freight stations, for example). Generallyspeaking, and where appropriate, the container loads are planned toreduce trips to port, to generate fuller container loads, and/or toaddress the need for alternative use containers to meet special shipmentneeds (e.g., reefers). Some embodiments also promote utilization oflarger containers where appropriate. For example, one container planninghierarchy includes, 45 foot container loads first, then 40 foot highcube container loads, then 40 foot standard container loads, and soforth, although other hierarchies are also contemplated.

In some embodiments, the subcomponents are implemented using a series ofinteractive menus similar to those previously described that displayinformation to the system user and allow selection of available shippingoptions. The container loads and associated inland freight routes areoptionally automatically or semi-automatically built by the LoadPlanning Component 42 as desired.

In some embodiments, the Load Planning Component 42 includes means foraccessing the Booking Queue Profile 74, for example a networkconnection, and then narrowing, or filtering the booking informationaccording to various freight shipment selection criteria, includingcriteria generated from the Profile Maintenance Component 40. FIG. 5shows some features of a planning menu 92 adapted to allow the systemuser to view shipment planning information and make various loadplanning and building selections. As described in greater detail, theplanning menu 92 includes one or more interactive sets of menus thatdraw information from, or otherwise interact with various systemcomponents, although other types of interfaces are also contemplated.During load planning and building, the system user optionally selectsvarious shipment selection criteria on the planning menu 92 to narrowthe inland freight shipments available to the system user for planningand building loads.

The CY Load Handling Subcomponent 80 includes means for identifyingcontainer yard shipments, also described as CY loads or full containerloads, that have been booked from vendor supply locations. In someembodiments, the CY Load Handling Subcomponent 80 includes one or morealgorithms for automatically designating free carrier (FCA) CY loads, aspending routing/tendering. The designated FCA CY loads are thenautomatically removed from the booking queue and associated with aninternational carrier (e.g., ocean or air carrier) by the CY LoadHandling, bypassing additional multi-stop routing load planning.

In other embodiments, the CY Load Handling Subcomponent 80 isimplemented utilizing user selection criteria on one or more interactivemenus, such as those of the planning menu 92. For example, the systemuser optionally filters the booking queue down to FCA CY loads and thenbuilds the FCA CY loads into CY shipments which are directly routed toport.

Although planned FCA CY loads are typically sent directly to port,various problems arise which result in “light loads.” For example, therecan be last minute production problems at the vendor supply locationsuch that some of the freight is not ready for pick up. In someembodiments, the system user is provided with this type of informationvia an alert on one or more of the interactive menus. The system user isthen presented with the option of letting the light load go directly toport as planned or building the light load into a multi-stop route forgreater equipment utilization.

The Field Consolidation Subcomponent 82 includes means for identifyingand selecting shipments for field consolidation. In some embodiments,the Field Consolidation Subcomponent 82 includes interactive menus forfiltering the booking queue information to display inland freightshipments in need of consolidation, also described as partial containerload freight shipments or CFS shipments, for example. As previouslyalluded to, in some embodiments the vendor booking processes previouslydefines the partial load shipments that would take two or more shipmentsto equal a container, or CY load.

In some embodiments, the system user is able to select shipments tobuild into loads according to the Planning Zone Profile 60. For example,the booking queue shipments are optionally filtered to partial loadshipments, which are then filtered by planning zone. In general terms,multi-stop routes are planned within a planning zone by starting with afirst vendor supply location and building a multi-stop route includingother vendor supply locations within the planning zone. In otherembodiments, multi-stop routes are built across planning zones whereappropriate. The multi-stop route is planned taking into account suchinformation as the shipment volume scheduled for pick up at each vendorlocation and the timing/availability of shipment items from the vendorsupply locations, for example, as well as other information.

As previously referenced, the system user is optionally provided withavailable planning information on one or more interactive menus such asthose previously described. The user then selects shipments from variousvendor supply locations to build a multi-stop route for fieldconsolidation. In other embodiments, the Field ConsolidationSubcomponent 86 includes algorithms or other means for automaticallyevaluating the planning information and multi-stop routing the partialload freight shipments. The results of the automatic evaluation areoptionally provided to the system user as one or more suggested loadsalong corresponding multi-stop routes.

After loads have been built within one or more planning zones, theremaining CFS shipments that need to be built into loads can be builtacross planning zones for field consolidation as desired. In someembodiments, the system user designates which of the remaining shipmentsare appropriate for cross-planning-zone field consolidation. Asdescribed in greater detail, the shipments that are not selected forfield consolidation are consolidated via other mechanisms, such as viaconsolidation at a container freight station (CFS). In some embodiments,the Field Consolidation Subcomponent 82 includes algorithms or othermeans for automatically evaluating the planning information andproviding one or more suggested cross-planning-zone field consolidationload routes.

Several loading scenarios lend themselves to field consolidation, ormulti-stop routing according to various embodiments. For example, insome embodiments, a multi-stop route results in a full container loadwhich is then directed to port. The system user optionally utilizesinformation from the profiles, such as shipment weight, cubic volume,cargo ready dates, vendor supply location city and/or other informationto build the load and the sequence of stops along the multi-stop routeusing one or more interactive menus.

As another example, a multi-stop route optionally results in a partialload (a “head load shipment”) which is then delivered to a consolidator,such as a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) consolidator, to be further combinedinto a full load, or fuller load, with a “top off” shipment. In order topromote efficient consolidation, preparation is made in advance for the“top off” shipment to be delivered to the consolidator in concert withthe “head load” shipment coming off of the multi-stop route.

If the head load shipment and the top off shipment have differentdestination gateways, the system user is provided with the option ofchanging one of the gateway destinations or rejecting the pairing ofthose container load partial freight shipments according to someembodiments. In another embodiment, the Field Consolidation Subcomponent88 is otherwise adapted to automatically determine whether “top off” and“head load” shipments are suited for combination. If the head loadshipment is the result of overflow from a Container Yard (CY) shipment,the system user is provided with an option of putting the overflowshipment with a different carrier and/or on a different vessel/voyage.

The Central Consolidation Subcomponent 84 includes means forconsolidating the FCA partial loads that were not selected for fieldconsolidation and means for consolidating freight on board (FOB) partialloads. In some embodiments, the system user has the option of buildingloads prior to consolidator receipt or after consolidator receipt. Insome embodiments, the Central Consolidation Subcomponent 84 is adaptedfor identifying and selecting a plurality of partial load freightshipments and routing the plurality of partial load freight shipments toa central consolidator.

With FCA shipments, the Large Retail Entity (LRE) is typicallyresponsible for managing routing of the partial load shipment to theconsolidator. For example, the system user optionally books a piece ofequipment, such as a truck or lorry, for bringing the partial loadshipment to the consolidator using one or more interactive menus orother appropriate means.

With FOB shipments, the vendor is responsible for managing delivery ofthe partial container load shipment to the consolidator, although thesystem user is provided with information relating to the inbound FOBpartial shipment, including notification as to shipment timing. Suchinformation is provided, for example, on one or more interactive menusof the Central Consolidation Subcomponent 84 to facilitate management ofload consolidation. In particular, the system user is able to betterselect shipments from the inbound list and create outbound loads to theport if the inbound FOB shipment information is also known. The carrierand vessel/voyage are then assigned once the load is created.

In some embodiments, the Maintain Loads Subcomponent 86 provides thesystem user with a load summary 94 in the form of one or moreinteractive menus, for example, after a plurality of shipment loads havebeen built. FIG. 6 is schematic view illustrating features of the loadsummary 94. For example, the load summary 94 includes information suchas a system designated container number, load ID, load status, thenumber of shipments comprising the load, the total cubic volume of theload, and others. In some embodiments, the size and type of equipmentfor the loads are selected on the load summary 94. In other embodiments,the size and type of equipment is selected at earlier stages in the loadplanning and building process. Access to a list of equipment sizes andtypes is optionally provided to the system user by accessing theEquipment Profile 70.

The Maintain Loads Subcomponent 86 also includes means for the systemuser to add or remove shipments from a load using one or moreinteractive menus. In one embodiment, the Maintain Loads Subcomponent 86prohibits adding or removing freight shipments from loads where theshipments have been booked with an inland freight carrier. For example,the system user is optionally alerted that the one or more shipmentshave been booked and is provided the option of sending a bookingcancellation notice to the appropriate inland freight carrier.Additionally, when adding additional shipments to the load, the MaintainLoads Subcomponent 86 accesses and updates the booking queue. Inparticular, if one or more shipments are removed from the load, theshipments are put back in the booking queue to be used to build otherloads.

The Fulfill Field Consolidation Obligations Subcomponent 88 includesmeans for the system user to view field consolidation efficiencyinformation to help ensure a sufficient amount of field consolidation isachieved in load planning and building. In some embodiments, the fieldconsolidation efficiency information is displayed on a FieldConsolidation Savings Summary 96. One embodiment Field ConsolidationSavings Summary 96 is shown generally in FIG. 7, although other valuesand data are optionally included than that shown. The efficiencyinformation optionally includes a comparison of the cubic volume of CFScandidate loads to the actual field consolidation loads created. Forexample, at the beginning of the day, the Fulfill Field ConsolidationObligations Subcomponent 88 includes algorithms for computing the cubicvolume of all freight that would go to a consolidator if no action weretaken.

As loads are built and/or after load planning is completed, a comparisonof the volume of field consolidated shipments to total partial containerload freight shipments is evaluated. In some embodiments, thisinformation is displayed to the system user on one or more interactivemenus during load planning so that the system user has an idea of howefficiently the loads are being built in terms of maximum fieldconsolidation. In some embodiments, a predetermined minimum efficiency,or field consolidation utilization, is required by the Fulfill FieldConsolidation Obligations Subcomponent 88. If the predetermined minimumor goal is not met the system user, a supervisor, or others are providedwith an appropriate alert. In at least this manner, Subcomponent 88optionally includes one or more threshold efficiency requirements.

The efficiency information includes a comparison of the total number ofpartial load freight shipments that would go to a consolidator but forfield consolidation, the field consolidated loads actually built, and apercentage field consolidation computed from the two. In someembodiments, the calculation is based on the total cubic volume ofpotential partial container load freight shipments and the actualpartial container load freight shipments. This efficiency information isalso optionally evaluated by planning zone. In some embodiments, costsavings are additionally or alternatively computed using a consolidationprice per cubic volume associated with one or more consolidators.

The Routing & Booking Component 44 includes means for booking inlandfreight carriers (e.g., one or more trucks) for pick up and delivery ofshipments forming container loads. The Component 44 also includes meansfor generating and delivering routing instructions to the booked inlandfreight carriers. As shown in FIG. 8, in some embodiments, the meansinclude one or more interactive Routing & Booking Menus 98 that providethe system user with information as to the available inland freightcarriers, the available equipment of the inland freight carriers, andother information from the various profiles, for example.

The system user is able to select inland freight carriers for the loadsbuilt using the Load Planning Component 42 which includes one or moreinteractive menus, for example. In some embodiments, the EquipmentProfile 70 is updated as available equipment is selected fortransporting the inland freight.

FIG. 8 illustrates some features of interactive menus 98 of the Routing& Booking Component 44 used by the system user. In some embodiments,selection criteria are used to designate various loads for booking androuting with an inland freight carrier. For example, the system userselects filtering criteria to reduce the list of loads having shipmentsneeding inland carrier booking The system user then selects one or moreoptions, for example equipment type and inland carrier, and sends abooking request and routing instructions, such as an electronic bookingrequest via e-mail or other electronic means.

In some embodiments, the booking request and routing instructions areprovided with a dispatch report to the inland freight carrier. Therouting instructions optionally include the scheduled appointment timesfor each pickup along a multi-stop route, the sequence of pickups atvendor locations along the multi-stop route, all necessary addresses inappropriate languages (English as well as the local language, forexample), purchase order information, quantities that are to be topicked up at each vendor location, and other information as desired. Theinland freight carrier then picks up the partial container load freightshipments and loads them, for example, onto a truck container or otherappropriate shipping container.

The Routing & Booking Component 44 also optionally includes means forassigning a container shipment carrier and vessel/voyage for plannedloads, such as one or more interactive menus similar to those previouslydescribed.

As referenced above, the container loads optionally have aninternational carrier and vessel/voyage assigned prior to utilization ofthe Container Load Planning and Building Component 42. For loads thatwere consolidated into container loads, the Routing & Booking Component44 provides the system user with an option to request automaticassignment of an international carrier and vessel/voyage or to select anappropriate international carrier and vessel/voyage manually based uponinformation from the MQC Balancing Module 24, described in greaterdetail below.

In some embodiments, if the system user selects the manual option forassignment, the Routing & Booking Component 44 automatically suggests ancontainer shipment carrier based upon contractually established minimumquantity commitments (MQC) for a plurality of carriers. The MQCinformation is optionally provided by the MQC Balancing Module 24,described in greater detail below. The Routing & Booking Component 44additionally or alternatively includes other means for determining anappropriate carrier, for example by accessing availability and pricinginformation on the Internet or other source.

The Consolidator Information Management Component 46 includes means forupdating the Load Planning Component 42 and/or Routing & BookingComponent 44 with information that one or more shipments have beenreceived at a consolidator. For example, receiving information ismanually or electronically received from the consolidator and input intothe Profile Generation and Maintenance Component 40 or other systemcomponent, for example.

In some embodiments, the Consolidator Information Management Component46 includes means for tracking, recording, and communicating shippingevents relating to when shipments are received, consolidated into loadsand/or shipped to port from the consolidator. For example, theConsolidator Information Management Component 46 includes one or morealgorithms for maintaining timestamp information for stops, pick ups,information relating to the sealing of a particular container,confirmation of receipt at a Consolidator Container Freight Station(CFS), delivery timestamps at port, and others.

In some embodiments, RFID technology, bar codes, GPS, and/or othertechnologies are used to track, record, and communicate shipping eventinformation. The Consolidator Information Management Component 46 alsoincludes process capability to maintain inland issue events such as theshipment not being picked up on time at a stop because the shipment isnot ready or a shipment not being picked up on time due to inlandfreight carrier lateness.

The MQC Balancing Module 24 operates based upon contractual obligationswith an international carrier for minimum quantity commitments (MQC) ofcontainers to be shipped by the international carrier. As subsequentlydescribed, the MQC Balancing Module 24 includes means for MQCdetermination and rate management, assigning MQC by shipping lane (wherea shipping lane includes a route from one specified point to anotherpoint), determining MQC loading by international carrier, and trackingMQC obligation fulfillment. The means for performing such tasksoptionally include one or more interactive menus similar to thosepreviously described.

FIG. 9 illustrates MQC processing in schematic form. The process of MQCdetermination and rate management is provided by contracting an annualminimum quantity amount, for example. Container shipment obligations canthen be determined by month, week, or day, for example, for each oceancarrier. The determined MQC is assigned by shipping lane, where shippinglanes extend between the port of origin to a destination gateway.

The running tally of containers fulfilling MQC obligations to carriersis updated and recorded. For example, the MQC Balancing Module 22optionally includes one or more databases for storing MQC data andprocessors for receiving and updating the MQC data. The MQC BalancingModule 24 is optionally integrated and/or interactive with Modules 22,26 sharing information and/or process tasks as desired.

The Gateway Balancing Module 22 assists with balancing incomingcontainer shipments between gateways according to the loading of gatewayresources. FIG. 10 is a schematic showing various importation gateways.For reference, a “gateway” for incoming shipments of goods to bedelivered to retail locations 100 is supported by ports of arrival 102(including inland ports of arrival, such as airports or ocean carrierports located inland, e.g., Chicago ocean carrier ports on LakeMichigan), de-consolidators 104, import warehouses, trucking, anddistribution centers 106, for example. In general terms, the GatewayBalancing Module 22 provides means for balancing shipments of aplurality of containers on one or more container shipment carriersbetween a plurality of associated gateways. Once the container shipmentcarrier is assigned to ship the container load, the one or morecontainer loads are loaded onto a ship of the container shipmentcarrier. The container shipments are then delivered to a recommendedgateway with the ship and unloaded at the recommended gateway.

In some embodiments, gateways for U.S. importation include Pacific Coastgateways, such as Pacific Northwest, Pacific Southwest, a PacificCentral Coast, Prince Rupert, and Lazaro Cardenas Gateways, AtlanticCoast gateways, such as Atlantic Southeast, Atlantic Northeast, AtlanticCentral Coast Gateways, and Gulf of Mexico gateways, such as a SouthCentral Coast Gateway.

As previously referenced, container shipment carriers (e.g., oceancarriers or air carriers), are booked for shipping containers via one orboth of the Inland Freight Management and MQC Balancing Modules 22, 24.The Gateway Balancing Module 22 optionally includes various levels ofbalancing prior to, during, and after the container shipment carrierbooking process. Although various levels of balancing are described, itshould be understood that a fewer number of levels, a greater number oflevels, or any combination of balancing levels is contemplated accordingto various embodiments.

A first level of gateway balancing optionally includes assigning portsof origin (where containers are exported) with destination gateways(where containers are received) based on a variety of factors, such asanticipated purchase order volumes to be sourced out of a particularmarket of origin. For reference, a “purchase order” relates to productsordered from one or more vendors, those products being imported as oneor more container shipments on one or more container shipment carriers.

A second level of balancing optionally includes utilizing a splitpurchase order process, or an “SPO process,” where large purchase ordersare automatically split into smaller purchase orders to be deliveredbetween multiple gateways.

A third level of balancing is described in greater detail below. In someembodiments, the third level of balancing occurs prior to carrierbooking, ending when carrier booking is confirmed with the internationalcarrier.

A fourth level of balancing is optionally achieved after carrierbooking, but prior to departure of a container shipment (e.g., via oceancarrier or air carrier). In some embodiments, the fourth level ofbalancing has a low utilization rate due to international carrierre-booking fees. For example, utilization of this fourth level balancingoccurs in less than 5% of booked shipments in some embodiments.

A fifth level of balancing is optionally achieved through a vesseldiversion process, where one or more carrier vessels are diverted enroute to a gateway. This fifth level of balancing is typically lessfrequently utilized. The fifth level of balancing may cause relativelyhigh fees to be levied by the carrier in order to allow this type ofvessel diversion, which happens relatively late in the shipping process.

As shown in FIG. 12, the third level of balancing includes a ProfileMaintenance Component 110, a Manual Override Component 112, and aBalancing Recommendation Generation Component 114. FIG. 13 shows variousfeatures of the Profile Maintenance Component 110 in greater detail. Asshown in FIG. 12, the Profile Maintenance Component 110 includes meansfor generating and maintaining a Gateway Capacity Profile 120, a ChangePreference Profile 122, a Gateway/Port Association Profile 124, aContainer Complexity Profile 126, an Equipment Profile 128, an AlertsProfile 130, an Inter-Gateway Association Profile 132, and a PurchaseOrder Shipment Assignments Profile 134.

In some embodiments, the Profiles Component 110 includes one or moreelectronic databases for storing profile information and is adapted toreceive electronic information that is manually input by a system useror is otherwise received from another source, for example from one ofthe Modules 22, 24 and/or via a network communication. In particular,generation and maintenance of the various profiles are automated to adesired extent through the use of computer hardware, software, andrelated technologies.

In some embodiments, the process of generating and maintaining theGateway Capacity Profile 120 includes gathering and maintainingde-consolidator container capacity information, import warehousecontainer capacity information, and trucking market capacityinformation. In some embodiments, the gateway capacity information is byspecific day, although the capacities can be evaluated according toother time frames.

For reference, a de-consolidator divides and sorts container contentsfrom container shipments into smaller quantities for distribution. Insome embodiments, each de-consolidator generally has a facility thatserves one or more customers, one of which is the large retail entity(LRE). In some embodiments, the large retail entity (LRE) forecasts aminimum de-consolidation volume for one or more de-consolidators.

The container de-consolidator capacity information includes a minimumquantity and minimum quantity threshold which is forecasted for thede-consolidator. The minimum quantity represents a target minimum amountto provide the de-consolidator and the minimum quantity threshold,expressed as a percentage, for example, represents a self-imposedmaximum allowable downward deviation from the minimum quantity.

In some embodiments, the de-consolidator information also includes amaximum quantity and a maximum quantity threshold. The maximum quantityis a target maximum amount that the de-consolidator should be providedwith and the maximum quantity threshold, expressed as a percentage, forexample, represents a self-imposed maximum allowable upward deviationfrom the maximum quantity. The de-consolidation capacity informationalso optionally includes an ideal quantity which is based on the plannedvolume of containers being shipped to a particular gateway.

The de-consolidator and/or the large retail entity (LRE) establishes themaximum and minimum container capacity values by evaluating the LRE'santicipated de-consolidation volume requirements, de-consolidatoroverall volume capabilities, reductions in de-consolidator volumecapability from other de-consolidator customers, and other factorsaffecting de-consolidator performance.

The import warehouse capacity information and/or trucking marketcapacity information are optionally similarly established, includingminimum, maximum, and/or ideal quantity information, for example.Alternatively, market trends, historical data, and/or other informationis analyzed to forecast import warehouse capacity and/or trucking marketcapacity.

The Change Preference Profile 122 includes information relating to aranking of container shipments that are most eligible to least eligiblefor a gateway change. In some embodiments, the Change Preference Profile122 also includes category information. The category information isgenerated by grouping and ranking container shipments for gateway changeeligibility according to product type and/or whether the purchase orderrelating to the container shipment was generated during the first levelof gateway balancing 100 as a split purchase order.

The Change Preference Profile 122 also optionally includes informationrelating to the minimum number of days prior to booking the vendor forcontainer items that the Gateway Balancing Module 22 should considercorresponding container shipments eligible for balancing. In someembodiments, the minimum number of days is zero. In other words, in someembodiments, container shipments are not eligible for balancing until ata vendor supply location has been booked to provide the containercontents and/or entire purchase order volume.

The Change Preference Profile 122 also optionally includes informationrelating to the booking status of container shipments and timing whenthe Gateway Balancing Module 26 should no longer consider a containershipment as eligible for gateway balancing between the plurality ofassociated gateways. In some embodiments, the container shipment is nolonger eligible for gateway balancing when the container shipmentcarrier (e.g., ocean or air carrier) sends a reservation confirmationfor shipping the containers.

The Gateway/Port Association Profile 124 optionally includes informationrelating import gateways and the ports of arrival associated with theimport gateways. In some embodiments, the profile also includesinformation relating export gateways and the ports of export associatedwith the export gateways. This profile also optionally includesinformation relating to association of one or more de-consolidators withan import gateway, as well as association of one or more consolidatorswith an export gateway or export port.

The Container Complexity Profile 126 includes information relating tothe relative complexity of a container in terms of de-consolidation, ora container de-consolidation complexity factor. For reference, one ormore factors relating to de-consolidation complexity are optionallycombined to evaluate consolidation complexity. In particular, a varietyof factors play a role in how much time/effort containerde-consolidation (as well as consolidation) requires. For example, insome embodiments, a container consolidation factor is employed duringinland freight management, for example during load planning & routing,to efficiently accomplish field consolidation in an analogous manner tocontainer de-consolidation.

In some embodiments, a variety of factors are averaged or otherwisecombined to rank all containers for a plurality of shipments associatedwith one or more gateways on a relative complexity scale. As will bedescribed in greater detail below, the Balancing RecommendationGeneration Component 114 accesses appropriate data, for example profileinformation, and calculates the container complexity factors. In someembodiments, a container with moderate de-consolidation complexity isoptionally used as a starting point, or baseline complexity, with a baserating of 1.00. A more complex container has a higher rating, forexample where a rating of 3.00 is equal to de-consolidating the contentsof three containers even though it is one physical piece of equipment. Aless complex container has a lower rating, for example of 0.05, theequivalent of one-twentieth of the average container.

One container de-consolidation complexity factor relates to cartoncomplexity. A carton complexity factor is optionally evaluated by theratio of the number of shipping cartons relative to the cubic volume ofthe container in which they are shipped. Fewer cartons are typicallyless complex to de-consolidate. In particular, fewer cartons requirefewer physical moves during de-consolidation, reducing the relativecomplexity of de-consolidation.

As one non-limiting example, in some embodiments, three ranges of ratiosare selected to correspond to a low complexity ranking of 1, a mediumcomplexity ranking of 2, and a high complexity ranking of 3. In otherwords, the higher the ratio, the more complex the cartons are tode-consolidate, and the higher the carton complexity ranking Althoughthree ranges with three corresponding rankings have been described, theevaluation and designation of greater or fewer levels of complexity arealso contemplated.

Another container complexity factor relates to item complexity. An itemcomplexity factor is optionally evaluated by the number of items on apurchase order associated with a container where a greater variety incontainer contents requires greater time in sorting and receiving. Forexample, a de-consolidator often has to sort by container contentsduring de-consolidation in order to receive and account for purchaseorder items, as well as scan by item when creating outbound ship noticemanifests for delivery to the retail locations (FIG. 1), for example.Again, and in general terms, the more items there are the more complexand time consuming, while the less items there are, the less number ofphysical moves.

In some embodiments, the item complexity factor is evaluated byselecting a plurality of ranges for the number of purchase order itemsand assigning complexity rankings to each range. As one non-limitingexample, four ranges, or groups, are selected as follows: 1-5 differentpurchase order items per container corresponds to an item complexityranking of 1, 6-10 different items corresponds to an item complexityranking of 2, 11-20 different items corresponds to an item complexityranking of 3, and 21 or more different items corresponds to an itemcomplexity ranking of 4. It should be understood that a variety of otherranges and associated rankings are contemplated, such as 100 or moreitems corresponding to an item complexity ranking of 4, or others.

A distribution center complexity factor relates to the number ofdistribution centers to which the container contents are allocated. If acontainer load is associated with a relatively large number ofdistribution centers, the de-consolidator will be required to perform agreater number of tasks during de-consolidation to ensure delivery tothe distribution centers. In some embodiments, distribution centercomplexity is evaluated by selecting a plurality of ranges of nos. ofassociated distribution centers for a purchase order and assigningcomplexity rankings to each range.

As one non-limiting example, four ranges, or groups, are optionallyselected as follows: 1-5 distribution centers corresponds to adistribution center complexity ranking of 1, 6-10 distribution centerscorresponds to a distribution center complexity ranking of 2, 11-20distribution centers corresponds to a distribution center complexityranking of 3, 21 or more distribution centers corresponds to adistribution center complexity ranking of 4, and no distributionscenters, or no allocation, corresponds to a neutral distribution centercomplexity ranking of 1. It should be understood that a variety of otherranges and associated rankings are contemplated, such as 100 or moreitems corresponding to a distribution center complexity ranking of 4, orothers.

Another container complexity factor relates to the type of required itemhandling. For example, an item handling complexity factor optionallyrelates to whether container contents are conveyable, non-conveyable,require more than one person to carry, and others modes of handling. Asone non-limiting example, in some embodiments, there are three itemhandling complexity factor groupings: a conveyable item grouping havingan item handling complexity factor of 1, a non-conveyable groupinghaving an item handling complexity factor of 2, and a team lift groupinghaving an item handling complexity factor of 3.

At times, a purchase order will include conveyable items that are to bede-consolidated at a de-consolidator with automated sorting equipment.In some embodiments, all container complexity for the purchase order iscancelled out, with all containers being given a neutral rating of 1.

In some embodiments, all of the container complexity factors areaveraged to obtain the overall complexity value for the containersassociated with a purchase order. If desired, one or more of thecomplexity factors previously described is weighted to have greater orlesser effect on the computation of overall container complexity. Forexample, it might be determined that the carton complexity factor ismore important than the other factors, with a weighting multiplier beingapplied to the carton complexity factor.

Regardless, a relative scale of complexity for containers is establishedby establishing the range for all of the purchase order containers. Theoverall range is then divided into a plurality of sub ranges, orcategories, five for example. Each of the sub ranges corresponds to adifferent “faux” container handicapping level. For reference, and asalluded to above, the capacities of de-consolidators are assumed to befor an average container complexity.

For example, a handicapping level of 1.00 is indicative of an averagecontainer complexity. As one non-limiting example, in some embodiments,the faux container handicapping levels include the following: “supercomplex” containers having a value of 4 (where one super complexcontainer is equated to de-consolidating 4 average containers), “verycomplex” having a value of 3 (where one very complex container isequated to de-consolidating 4 average containers), “complex” having avalue of 2 (where one complex container is equated to de-consolidating 2average containers), “moderate” having a value of 1 (where one moderatecontainer is the average container), and “non-complex” having a value of0.5 (where a non-complex container is equated to de-consolidating halfof the average container). The faux container handicapping levels areused to adjust or otherwise forecast a more realistic evaluation of thedeconsolidation capacity of one or more gateways during gatewaybalancing as described in greater detail below.

The process of generating the information included in the ContainerComplexity Profile 126 is achieved automatically in some embodiments,via one or more algorithms adapted to process profile informationmaintained by the Profile Maintenance Component 110 and/or the otherModules 22, 24. For example, the information is optionally establishedby the Profile Maintenance Component 110, the Generate BalancingRecommendations Component 114, or other portions of the System 20.

The Equipment Profile 128 includes available shipping containerinformation by port and carrier. In some embodiments, the EquipmentProfile 128 is substantially the same as the Equipment Profile 70 of theInland Freight Management Module 22, including similar informationand/or being stored in the same location, such as a central database,for example.

The Alerts Profile 130 includes information about alerts accessed byvarious components of the Gateway Balancing Module 26. For example, thealert for balancing to an exception gateway is maintained in the AlertsProfile 130, which is then accessed and displayed to a system user bythe Manual Override Component 112 or Generate Balancing RecommendationsComponent 114, for example.

The Inter-Gateway Association Profile 132 includes associationinformation relating various import gateways. In particular, variousgateways are associated with one another in terms of their eligibilityfor balancing container shipments between the gateways. In someembodiments, the association information includes a relative rankingdesignating a preferential order of balancing associations. For example,a first gateway optionally has primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary,exception 1 through exception 5, and non-associated designations for aplurality of gateways, where the primary designation indicates the mostfavored location for gateway balancing from the first gateway and thenon-associated designation indicates a non-eligible gateway forbalancing from the first gateway.

One non-limiting example of a data screen 138 showing inter-gatewayassociations is provided in FIG. 14. As referenced above, a “primary”associated gateway is the first most likely candidate for gatewaybalancing. In some embodiments, the primary gateway is the next closestgateway and/or the gateway having most comparable receiving andde-consolidation resources to the gateway from which a shipment is to bebalanced. A non-associated gateway is generally not a candidate forgateway balancing. An “exception” gateway is a candidate for balancingin special circumstances. For example, in some embodiments, balancing toan exception gateway triggers a user alert maintained in the AlertsProfile 130, for example.

The Purchase Order Shipment Assignments Profile 134 includes informationrelating to which gateways container shipments have been initiallyassigned during vendor booking and/or container shipment carrier bookingprocesses. For reference, the container shipments are initiallyassociated with a gateway during one or more vendor booking processesused by the Large Retail Entity (LRE) and/or container shipment carrierbooking processes used by the LRE, such as those employed with the MQCBalancing Module 22.

In some embodiments, container shipment carrier booking for one or morecontainer shipments results in an entire purchase order being booked fora single gateway. In other embodiments, where a purchase order is partlyshipped CY (full container load from vendor to port) and partly shippedCFS (field and/or centrally consolidated loads) there is the potentialthat the (CFS) part of the purchase order container shipment is bookedfor a different gateway than the Container yard (CY) part of thepurchase order container shipment.

FIG. 15 shows various features of the Manual Override Component 112. Insome embodiments, the Manual Override Component 112 includes means forgenerating Manual Assignments 140 and Manual Exclusions 142. The ManualOverride Component 112 optionally includes one or more interactive menusdisplayed to the system user, for example on a user interface, such asthose previously described.

The Manual Assignments 140 are generated by manually assigning a gatewayto a container shipment, for example by using a menu selection. TheManual Assignments 140 lock gateways and purchase orders together asdesired. In some embodiments, locking the manual assignment causes theManual Override Component 112 to designate the manually assignedcontainer shipment as non-eligible for balancing. However, as describedin greater detail below, the container volume of the manually assignedcontainer shipment is still considered by the Balancing RecommendationGeneration Component 114. The Manual Override Component 112 is alsoadapted to allow unlocking, gateway changes, and re-locking of thecontainer shipment as desired.

The Manual Exclusions 142 are generated by manually excluding one ormore container shipments from being considered by the BalancingRecommendation Generation Component 114. In particular, the ManualOverride Component 112 is adapted to remove Manual Exclusion containershipment container volumes from consideration during the balancingprocess. In some embodiments, the Manual Override Component 112 isadapted to automatically designate various container shipments as ManualExclusions 142. For example, “Inland Point Intermodal” orders (“IPIorders”) are optionally automatically excluded from the BalancingRecommendation Generation Component 114.

As alluded to above, the Balancing Recommendation Generation Component114 includes means for generating gateway balancing recommendations forone or more container shipments being imported for de-consolidation anddistribution. As shown in FIG. 16, the Balancing RecommendationGeneration Component 114 includes a Determine Demand Subcomponent 150, aCalculate Containers Subcomponent 152, an Apply PO Business RulesSubcomponent 154, an Acquire Manual Overrides Subcomponent 156, aDetermine Confirmed Demand Subcomponent 158, a Determine CapacitySubcomponent 160, an Apply Gateway Business Rules Subcomponent 162, aGenerate Balance Recommendations Subcomponent 164, a Generate AlertsSubcomponent 166, and a Communicate Balance Recommendations Subcomponent168.

The Determine Demand Subcomponent 150 includes means for determininggateway demand by identifying container shipment container volumes thathave been initially booked to ship to a particular gateway within acertain time frame. In some embodiments, the means for identifyingcontainer shipment volumes includes one or more interactive menus thataccess the list of container shipments from the Initial Purchase OrderShipment Assignments Profile 134 and then filters the list according toa range of dates, such as a range of estimated dates of arrival at portor de-consolidator, for example. The initial demand on a particulargateway is initially forecast in this manner for a particular date, arange of dates, or other time period as desired.

The Calculate Containers Subcomponent 152 includes means forhandicapping, or adjusting, the forecasted volume containers that are tobe shipped to a plurality of gateways. In particular, a handicappeddemand, also described as an adjusted or weighted demand, for thegateways initially assigned to the container shipments is determinedfrom the initial demand obtained using the Determine Demand Subcomponent150. For example, two actual containers from one or more purchase ordersto be shipped can be handicapped, or weighted, such that they are theequivalent of processing six standard containers of average complexityusing complexity handicapping information from the Container ComplexityProfile 126. In some embodiments, the Calculate Containers Subcomponent152 includes software, one or more algorithms, networking capabilities,or other means for accessing necessary purchase order information,calculating the handicapping information, storing the handicappinginformation in the Container Complexity Profile 126, and accessing thehandicapping information as desired.

The Apply Purchase Order Business Rules Subcomponent 154 includes meansfor accessing and applying information from the Change PreferenceProfile 122 to the container shipments in order to rank the containershipments according to which are most eligible to least eligible forgateway changes. In some embodiments, Subcomponent 154 includes one ormore interactive menus and appropriate algorithms for selecting orotherwise enabling application of the Change Preference Profile 122.

The Acquire Manual Overrides Subcomponent 156 includes means foraccessing the Manual Assignments 140 and Manual Exclusions 142 generatedusing the Manual Override Component 112. In particular, the AcquireManual Overrides Subcomponent 156 is adapted to help ensure that theManual Assignments 140 are excluded from balancing, although thecontainer shipment container volumes are included for determininggateway demand. In turn, the Manual Exclusions 142 container volumes areremoved entirely from consideration in balancing gateways.

The Determine Confirmed Demand Subcomponent 158 includes means forconsidering the confirmed demand and unconfirmed demand on the gatewaysrepresented by container shipment containers. The Determine ConfirmedDemand Subcomponent 158 is adapted to filter the confirmed demand(demand represented by carriers who have already sent reservationconfirmation for shipping) and/or unconfirmed demand (not yet confirmedfor shipping by the carrier) for balancing eligibility according to theestimated time of arrival (ETA) at a gateway.

As previously referenced, the confirmed demand on a gateway is generallyless eligible for balancing. In some embodiments, the estimated time ofarrival at a particular gateway is determined relative to an estimatedtime of arrival at a de-consolidator of the gateway, which is somenumber of days (e.g., 2 days more) from the estimated time of arrival ofa vessel at the gateway port of arrival. In some embodiments, theDetermine Confirmed Demand Subcomponent 158 includes one or moreinteractive menus and associated algorithms, such as those previouslydescribed, utilized by the system user to calculate and evaluateconfirmed and/or unconfirmed demand on gateway resources, includingde-consolidation resources, for example.

In some embodiments, the Determine Confirmed Demand Subcomponent 158prohibits container shipments within a pre-selected estimated time ofarrival at a gateway consolidator from being eligible for balancing. Inturn, in some embodiments Subcomponent 158 provides for any unconfirmeddemand on the gateway to be eligible for balancing, regardless ofestimated time of arrival at a consolidator, port of arrival, or othergateway component.

The Determine Capacity Subcomponent 160 includes means for determiningde-consolidator capacity for a specified period of time corresponding tothe estimated time of arrival of the container shipments being balanced.In some embodiments, Subcomponent 160 includes appropriate algorithmsfor calculating de-consolidator capacity and one or more interactivemenus navigated by the system user to make such determinations. Theperiod of time is optionally specified as a single day or a range ofdays as desired.

The Apply Gateway Business Rules Subcomponent 162 includes means forapplying the Inter-Gateway Association Profile 132 to determine whichgateways are eligible as alternatives to an initially designated gatewayfor container shipments. For example, Subcomponent 162 optionallyincludes an interactive menu selection that provides a list of potentialalternate gateways for balancing.

The Generate Balance Recommendations Subcomponent 164 includes means forcalculating a recommended gateway for container shipments based ongateway capacity (for example, de-consolidator capacity), demand (forexample, de-consolidation demand), business rules, container complexityof the containers of the shipments and gateway container volumes beingbalanced, and others according to a gateway balancing process. As partof the gateway balancing process, the Subcomponent 164 provides arecommendation either to change gateways from an initially assignedgateway to an associated gateway or to proceed with shipment of thecontainers to the initially assigned gateway. Subcomponent 164 includesappropriate algorithms and communications for accessing the variousProfiles and optionally includes one or more interactive menus to beviewed and navigated by the system user during the gateway balancingprocess.

The gateway balancing process is optionally scheduled to beautomatically performed at a predetermined time, for example daily. Thegateway balancing process can also be initiated upon user demand, forexample via the interactive menus. Subcomponent 164 sends therecommendation information to a repository, such as a networkeddatabase, for users to view summarized or detailed information asdesired. In some embodiments, if the de-consolidation demand on aparticular gateway exceeds the allocated de-consolidation capacity, theinbound demand, or order volume must be shifted to anotherde-consolidator and/or a request for additional de-consolidationcapacity must be made.

The Generate Alerts Subcomponent 166 includes means for alertingde-consolidators that the balancing process has not achieved appropriatede-consolidation balancing and that additional de-consolidation capacityis needed. For example, in some embodiments, Subcomponent 166 accessesthe Alerts Profile 130 and generates an appropriate alert, such as ane-mail to one or more de-consolidators requesting capacity. The GenerateAlerts Subcomponent 166 also optionally includes a visual alert on aninteractive menu, an e-mail, and/or an audible alarm, for example,alerting the system user or other appropriate entities that balancinghas not been achieved in accordance with one or more business rules orother criteria. As one example, an alert is optionally provided that acontainer shipment has been balanced to an exception gateway, requiringsystem user input whether to proceed with the exception gatewayassignment.

The Communicate Balance Recommendations Subcomponent 168 includes meansfor communicating to other system components that a new gateway has beenassigned one or more container shipments. System users or otherappropriate entities, other system components, such as the InlandFreight Management Module 22, MQC Balancing Module 24, are provided withthe information. In some embodiments, summary reporting is automaticallygenerated and provided in an electronic format on one or moreinteractive menus.

In view of the foregoing, various embodiments of the System 20 providemeans for managing an inland freight routing process, means forcentralized booking of direct-import freight, and means for shippingrate management. Embodiments of the System 20 optionally provideautomated forecasting processes to provide timely and accurate shippinginformation, a systematized method of assigning container shipments tointernational carriers based MQC obligations, and a systematized methodto proactively calculate gateway demand and manage gateway usage,including de-consolidator workload management.

Various modifications and additions can be made to the exemplaryembodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the presentinvention. For example, while the embodiments described above refer toparticular features, the scope of this invention also includesembodiments having different combinations of features and embodimentsthat do not include all of the described features. Accordingly, thescope of the present invention is intended to embrace all suchalternatives, modifications, and variations as fall within the scope ofthe claims, together with all equivalents thereof.

1. An inland freight management apparatus comprising: means forgenerating a customs-district-based zone; means for identifying aplurality of partial load freight shipments to be received from aplurality of suppliers; means for field consolidating a full containerfrom the partial load freight shipments by generating at least one routebetween the plurality of suppliers and within the customs district-basedzone; means for centrally consolidating a full container from thepartial load freight shipments by generating a plurality of consolidatorroutes from the suppliers to a consolidator; and means for determiningfield consolidation efficiency by determining a percentage fieldconsolidation based on a first number of the plurality of partial loadfreight shipments and a second number of field consolidated loadsactually built.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the means foridentifying a plurality of partial load freight shipments to be receivedfrom a plurality of suppliers includes an interactive menu.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1, further comprising means for obtaining informationrelating to the field consolidation efficiency and means for displayingthe information.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the obtainingmeans comprises means for comparing a cubic volume of candidate loads tothe second number of field consolidated loads actually built.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 4, further comprising means for calculating the cubicvolume of the candidate loads.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein themeans for determining field consolidation efficiency comprises means fordetermining threshold efficiency requirements and means for providing analert if the threshold efficiency requirements are not met.
 7. Acomputer-implemented method of moving product from a plurality ofproduct supply locations to a port of origin, the method comprising:generating via access to a computer database or computer network aplurality of planning zones based upon one or more customs districts;identifying via the computer database or computer network a plurality ofpartial container load product shipments to be received from a pluralityof product supply locations; field consolidating a full container loadfrom the partial container load product shipments by generating at leastone multi-stop route within one of the plurality of planning zones;centrally consolidating a full container load from the partial containerload product shipments by generating a plurality of consolidator routesfrom the product supply locations to a consolidator; and determining bya computer field consolidation efficiency by determining a percentagefield consolidation based on a first number of the plurality of partialcontainer load product shipments and a second number of fieldconsolidated loads actually built.
 8. The method of claim 7, whereinidentifying a plurality of partial container load product shipments tobe received from a plurality of product supply locations includes:filtering a list of product shipments to be received from product supplylocations to the plurality of partial container load product shipments.9. The method of claim 7, wherein field consolidating a full containerload from the partial container load product shipments by generating atleast one multi-stop route within one of the plurality of inland ratingzones includes: providing a system user with planning information on aninteractive menu; filtering a list of product shipments to be receivedfrom product supply locations to a list of partial container loadproduct shipments on the interactive menu; filtering the list of partialcontainer load product shipments by a selected planning zone on theinteractive menu; and building a multi-stop route by selecting at leasttwo of the plurality of the partial container load product shipmentsfiltered by the selected planning zone to build the full container load.10. The method of claim 7, wherein determining field consolidationefficiency includes: comparing a total volume of partial container loadproduct shipments to be received from a plurality of product supplylocations with a volume of partial container load product shipments tobe field consolidated.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprisinggenerating an alert if the field consolidation efficiency is below apredetermined minimum efficiency.
 12. The method of claim 10, whereinfield consolidation efficiency is determined prior to booking one ormore inland product carriers for the multi-stop route and theconsolidator routes and if the field consolidation efficiency is below apredetermined level, the method further comprises determining one ormore different multi-stop routes for field consolidating the fullcontainer load from the partial container load product shipments. 13.The method of claim 7, wherein the method is performed using a pluralityof interactive menus, the method further comprising: presenting productshipment information to a system user using the plurality of interactivemenus; inputting product shipment selection criteria using the pluralityof interactive menus; and filtering the product shipment informationaccording to the product shipment selection criteria.
 14. The method ofclaim 7, further comprising obtaining information relating to the fieldconsolidation efficiency and displaying the information.
 15. The methodof claim 14, wherein the obtaining step comprises comparing a cubicvolume of candidate loads to the second number of field consolidatedloads actually built.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprisingcalculating the cubic volume of the candidate loads.
 17. A method ofconsolidating freight into container loads, the method comprising:generating by a computer via access to a computer database or computernetwork a plurality of inland planning zones based upon one or morecustoms districts; identifying via the computer database or computernetwork a plurality of partial shipments to be received from a pluralityof supply locations; field consolidating a container load from thepartial shipments by generating, by the computer, at least onemulti-stop route within one of the plurality of inland planning zonesand loading the partial shipments from the plurality of supply locationsonto a truck to make the container load; initially assigning thecontainer load for shipment to one of a plurality of importationgateways; and generating a gateway balancing recommendation for thecontainer load by determining a gateway demand for each of the pluralityof importation gateways, determining a handicapped gateway demand fromthe gateway demands for each of the plurality of importation gateways,and determining gateway capacity for each of the plurality ofimportation gateways.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprisingassigning a container shipment carrier to ship the container load andloading the full container load onto a ship of the container shipmentcarrier.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the container shipmentcarrier is assigned according to a minimum quantity commitment.
 20. Themethod of claim 17, wherein determining the handicapped gateway demandcomprises determining a handicapping level for each container based on acomplexity of the container as compared to an average containercomplexity.